Events

Zofia first joined Sotheby’s temporarily in 2017 as an Intern in the Prints Department in London, having studied History of Art in her home country. She then moved to Edinburgh to complete her master’s degree in Modern and Contemporary Art History, while developing her passion and knowledge for wine by working part-time in wine retail. She also had a chance to join The University of Edinburgh’s blind tasting team, which allowed her to successfully take part in national and international tasting competitions, such as Left Bank Bordeaux Cup and Pol Roger Tasting Cup. The idea of working in a global auction house was always on her mind, and at the beginning of 2021 she had an opportunity to merge the two areas of expertise, auctions and wine. A year later she successfully completed the WSET Diploma in Wines and in 2023 she was promoted to Wine Specialist, joining the department’s European network of experts.

Zofia will host us in Sotheby's for welcome-back drinks generously offered by Sotheby's, hence the attractive flat price. We will taste a few wines of her choice and Zofia will explain the hidden mechanism of a wine auction. There will be some nibbles to enjoy and plenty of opportunities to network.  If you ahave always wondered about how auctions work and whether fine wine holds its value, this is the event to come to!

Please come along and do not hesitate to bring a friend!

Monica Meade is the Global Head of Audit for Technology, Real Time Payments, and Transfer Solutions at Mastercard.

Before joining Mastercard, Monica worked for nine years at JP Morgan, where she served as the Head of Technology Audit for the Corporate and Investment Bank Markets team for Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Prior to that, she held various audit roles at Credit Suisse and Deloitte.

Aside from her professional career, Monica is a passionate advocate for social causes. She serves as a trustee of the Afro Caribbean Leukaemia Trust, a leading blood cancer/disorder charity dedicated to raising awareness of the severe shortage of donors on the U.K. stem cell, blood, and organ donor registers.

Additionally, Monica actively volunteers with the U.K. Cyber Security Council as an Assessor for Professional Registration titles, offering her expertise in assessing candidates. Her dedication to advancing the field of technology audit and information security is evident from her past role as President and board member of the award-winning ISACA London Chapter.

Monica is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), and a Chartered Cyber Security Professional (ChCSP). She holds a Postgraduate degree in Information Security from Royal Holloway University of London, along with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with Management from King's College London.

Cyber costs millions every year and is usually not a question of "if" but "when" and "how long". Monica will share a bit of light on this hidden world and who are the big actors, how do they get away with it, as well as how to protect one's organisation.

We will be tasting a selection of wines from Clarette, a really nice French restaurant with a private room.